January 23, (THEWILL) – The Transition Committee Chairman of Itu Local Government Area, Rt. Hon. (Barr) Etetim Onuk, on Monday, led the entire Itu Council Area and Akwa Ibom State in general to the throne of God in thanksgiving for protection and benevolence throughout 2023 and rededication of the land and the people to the Almighty God for greater things in 2024 and beyond.
Representing the land where the Transition Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, all members of the transition committee, Head of Local Government Services, all directions and staff of the Council, political stakeholders of the land, royal fathers, chapter and ward chairmen, executives and members as well as the clergymen and women of Itu.
The solemn spiritual exercise was conducted by the Chaplain of the Council, Rev. Joshua Cleopas.
Prayers were said on different issues in the land including fertility of the soil, cleansing of the waters, growth and prosperity of indigenes of Itu, love, unity of purpose and forgiveness of sins of the past, present and future to ensure the uninterrupted presence of God in the land.
Standing in the gap for the land and people of the LGA, the Transition Committee Chairman, Barr. Onuk and senior stakeholders of the LGA, including the Chairman, State Secondary Education Board, Ekaette Ebong Okon PhD; ex-guber aspirant, ESV James Iniama; Special Adviser to the Governor on Women matters, Uyo Senatorial District, Decn. Elsie Esara, clergymen and women, and the royal father, among others, went on their knees, showing humility and repentance before God.
It was a solemn moment and significantly emotional when the Transition Committee Chairman wept while calling on God to heal the land, plant love and unity in the hearts of the indigenes and sweeten the seeming bitter waters in the land.
Speaking at the event with the theme: ‘Your Light Has Come’, the Council Chaplain, Rev Joshua Cleopas, stated that it was a clear recognition of the Almighty God as the supreme creator and the owner of the whole universe and the only one that can build a house to stand.
According to him, the rededication implies that every human life should be rededicated unto God considering that between January 2023 and the present things have gone wrong.
“We might have offended God, we might have done one thing or another that actually distorted or thwarted our efforts last year and the Lord said in his word that fire should not quench in His altar. So, it is a way of rekindling the fire of the Lord in the altar so that the presence of God will continually be with His people as a Local Government, a family, individuals and also staff.
“That is what actually informed the event, knowing too well that without God we cannot do anything, and it is our duty to rededicate our lives, the work God has given to us, and the entire land to God for fresh grace, fresh power, wisdom, and knowledge to perform well in this year 2024,” the cleric explained.
The Chaplain, who is a former district superintendent of the Assemblies of God and a former member of the prayer team in Government House, recalled that Itu had never been so dedicated to prayer and solemn assembly until the administration of Barr. Onuk within the last six years.
“Well, as a son of Itu for a long time, we have been organising solemn assembly but the magnitude has never been this way. The Chairman and his officers were not consistent. This Chairman is very consistent. I’m not sure he has been absent up to four times in his six years as substantive chairman and now as the Transition Chairman. He has put his faith, his everything in the service of God here. That is why the rededication took a different dimension today,” he said.
Rev Cleopas, who took his text from the Bible book of Isaiah 60:1-3, said the theme: “Your Light Has Come” was in connection with the A.R.I.S.E. agenda of the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno.
“I also realised that many denominations are taking a cue from the same thing we are doing here. I believe that only the light can expose and expel darkness, thereby releasing people into their purpose in God, fulfilling their agendas in God and their destinies,” he added.
The host of the event, Rt. Hon. Onuk, appreciated God for the number and calibre of people who attended the service on short notice, saying it had not been that way before.
He noted that the number of people had increased proportionally considering what it was in 2023, expressing happiness that more people and more dignitaries were in attendance.
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